On December 3, 4, and 5 an auction for items owned by Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach was held at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. 1,367 lots were sold over that three-day day period raising more than $9.2 million, with close to 2.75 million of that being drums and gear. This project was in the works for more than two years and I was brought in to sort through, organize and research the history of the drum gear. Given the responsibility to manage this task, I was grateful to receive plenty of help from Julien’s staff and from friends like Jeff Chonis (Ringo’s longtime drum tech), Scott Robert Ritchie (Barbara and Ringo’s personal assistant) and Phil Kaiser, who assisted me in properly writing the descriptions needed for the catalog and Julien’s online site.

Prior to my first trip to Beverly Hills, there were plenty of phone calls and emails and I was given basic descriptions and photographs to work from before actually seeing all of the drum gear firsthand. Nothing would or could have prepared me for what I was getting into. Not much of what Ringo had in England was organized or documented. On the first day, Jeff and I were both surprised to see a large room scattered with drums, road cases, all types of stands, cymbals and other percussion equipment. We quickly developed a plan where I focused on drums from the 60s through the 80s and Jeff organized the gear from 1989 forward. There was no need to worry about Ringo’s first Ludwig Beatle kit because that project was completed earlier in the year.

One memorable moment for me was going through Ringo’s Beatles trap case. It was like an archaeological dig. Inside was an old well used 13” Weather Master drumhead, an assortment of cymbals and stands (dating from the early 60s through the 70s), partial Olympic and Ludwig cymbal stands, one complete and the bottom of a WFL snare stand, the base and center post for a Ludwig 1400 model cymbal stand, the pedal from a Speed King, and one of the coolest items, the original dual tom mount post from Ringo’s Maple kit. All truly priceless items. Ringo was excited about these finds and he seemed to be particularly happy about the Olympic cymbal stand because it was something that he used with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes as well as the Beatles. None of these items were included in the auction.

It was amazing to be the one to have complete access to the drums of Ringo’s life. At one point after my basic job was complete, I had a conversation with Ringo and he thanked me for what I had done. Interestingly, based on my research, Ringo said that he learned some things that he didn’t know and better yet, he remembered things that he had forgotten.

As part of the marketing campaign for the auction, I had the task of setting up six drum kits in a large room off the lobby at the Beverly Hilton, including the first Ludwig Beatles kit. The plan was for Ringo to be photographed and videotaped as he talked about each of the kits. With only five people in the room for the shoot, I was there to rearrange the gear if required to accommodate the photographers and to offer historical information if needed. When Ringo arrived he was in a great mood, very playful and funny. He worked his way over to the Beatles kit sat down behind it. I had placed a set of sticks on the floor tom thinking that he might want to hold them as props. I was prized when Ringo picked up the sticks and started playing the kit. I was standing a few feet in front of him with an astonished look on my face. He began playing the beginning of Come Together and Ringo laughed when he saw me smiling and said “You caught that.” to which I said “Yes I did.” The last time Ringo played that kit as a Beatle was 51 years and nine months ago, truly a magical and historical moment.

Gary Astridge

The auction was a huge success and it’s amazing to witness the power of a Beatle. As an example, a used pair of Ringo’s signature drum sticks sold for $7,680 and a pair of unused Promark Ringo signature sticks sold for $1,920. Someone paid close to $18,000 for a 60’s Premier Mahogany Duroplastic drum kit that was similar to what Ringo played and it was gifted to him by a fan. It didn’t have the correct snare drum and Ringo never even played it! Crazy!! In addition, Ringo’s UK mono first pressing of the White album, numbered 000001 sold for $790,000.

Earlier this year, Barbara and Ringo sold their 200-acre estate outside of London, which included an 18,000+ square foot home. At this point in their lives they are downsizing and decided to share what they have instead of putting it all in a warehouse. A portion of the proceeds from the auction is going to their Lotus Foundation charity (LotusFoundation.com).

This 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat drum kit, the first Ludwig kit ever owned by Ringo Starr, was used on more than 200 live performances and over 180 studio recordings from May 12, 1963 through February 4, 1964, while becoming a visual trademark as important to The Beatles’ stage show as their hair, suits, boots, guitars and amplifiers. Ringo’s ultimate decision to purchase this very kit lit the fuse for the Ludwig Drum Company, while the actual explosion would take place on Monday, February 10, 1964, the day after The Beatles’ legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. This historic drum kit has not been seen in public since.

In April of 1963 Starr and The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein went to Drum City Ltd. in London to obtain a new drum kit. His Mahogany Duroplastic 4-piece Premier kit was well used and in need of replacement. Through the years, a number of different versions of what happened next have surfaced. Ringo’s recollection was seeing the Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl drum kit in the shop’s window and saying to Brian “Oh great! Look at this kit!” The two went in and met with Gerry Evans, the store manager, to discuss what drum options Drum City had to offer and other details. But Ringo was hooked. He wanted the American made Ludwig Downbeat kit in Oyster Black Pearl he saw in the window. To complete the sale, Brian wanted to meet with store owner Ivor Arbiter, who had an office nearby. The Beatles frequented another of Ivor’s shops, Sound City, which sold guitars, amps and accessories and Brian wanted to cut a deal. A call was made by Gerry Evans to Ivor and a meeting was quickly arranged. Epstein also wanted the band’s name to appear on the front bass drum as well and according to Arbiter, Ivor hastily sketched a logo on a scrap of paper from his desk which emphasized the BEAT in “Beatles.” In doing so Arbiter became the designer of The Beatles' "Drop-T" logo, one of the most recognizable logos in the world. He then rang up Eddie Stokes, a local sign painter who occasionally worked for Drum City painting band names on drum heads and paid him £5 to paint the new logo on the front drum head just under the Ludwig logo, to everyone’s satisfaction.

Ringo took possession of his new Ludwig kit on May 12, 1963. Gerry Evans personally delivered the new kit to the Alpha Television Studios where The Beatles were taping a TV show called Thank Your Lucky Stars, miming “From Me To You” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

1963 and early ’64 was a very busy and aggressive time for The Beatles and this Ludwig Downbeat drum kit was used extensively as the band crisscrossed the UK, playing in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as well as on the continent in Sweden and France. Here are some key moments in its history:• It was played at the last appearance by The Beatles at The Cavern Club on August 3, 1963• It was seen on close to 20 television performances including the aforementioned Thank Your Lucky Stars (May 12, 1963), Ready, Steady, Go!(October 4, 1963), Sunday Night At The London Palladium (October 13, 1963), the Royal Command Performance from the Prince of Wales Theatre (November 4, 1963), the Morecambe And Wise Show (December 2, 1963) and Juke Box Jury from the Empire Theatre in Liverpool (December 7, 1963)• It was heard on over 160 songs in 28 different broadcast episodes of BBC Radio shows like Saturday Club, Pop Go The Beatles and From Us To You. Many of the recordings can be found on The Beatles’ Live At The BBC, Volumes I & II as well as on bootleg recordings. Some of the songs include:· Ain’t Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The Trees)· All My Loving· A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues· Boys· Carol· Clarabella· Devil In Her Heart· Don’t Ever Change· Do You Want To Know A Secret· Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby· From Me To You· From Us To You· Glad All Over· Hippy Hippy Shake· I Got To Find My Baby· I Just Don’t Understand· I’ll Get You· I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry· I Saw Her Standing There· I Wanna Be Your Man· I Want To Hold Your Hand· Johnny B Goode· Lend Me Your Comb· Long Tall Sally· Lucille· Memphis Tennessee· Misery· Money (That’s What I Want)· Please Mr. Postman· Please Please Me· Roll Over Beethoven· Thank You Girl· She Loves You· Soldier Of Love· Some Other Guy· Sure To Fall· Sweet Little Sixteen· Thank You Girl· That’s All Right Mama· There’s A Place· Three Cool Cats· Till There Was You· Too Much Monkey Business· Twist And Shout· Words Of Love· Young Blood· You Really Got A Hold On Me

Bass Drum20” x 14” 3-ply Mahogany, Poplar, Mahogany shell, unpainted wood clear finish interior16 original chrome Large Classic lugs8 original chrome T-rods and Claws, original hoop and original Ludwig batter head2 original chrome Shell Mount Folding Spurs (legs)Original chrome Shell Mount Cymbal HolderOriginal chrome Rail Consolette (tom tom mount) which was modified during The Beatles years with a brass wingnut*The front hoop and its 8 T-rods & Claws are not original to this kit but are correct vintage original Ludwig products*The front head is a hand painted replica by well-known Beatles drum head authority, Russ Lease, based on his in-person, hands-on and forensic photographic research

When Starr purchased this drum kit it came with a 1963 Ludwig Jazz Festival snare drum in Oyster Black Pearl finish. Starr has used that snare drum through his career with The Beatles and it is not included with this set.

In 1969, Paul used a combination of this kit and Ringo’s second Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat kit when he recorded his first solo album, McCartney, in 1970. Paul used the 8” x 12” tom and the 14” x 20” bass drum from this kit and the floor tom and snare from the second kit. When setting up the “hybrid” kit to record, Paul removed the original Beatles “Drop-T” logo front drum head and filled the bass with what appeared to be a blanket to muffle its sound.McCartney track listing with Paul playing Ringo’s “hybrid” Ludwig Downbeat kit:-That Would Be Something-Valentine Day-Every Night-Hot As Sun/Glasses-Junk-Man We Was Lonely-Oo You-Momma Miss America-Teddy Boy-Singalong Junk-Maybe I'm Amazed-Kreen-AkrorePaul eventually took the kit up to his farm in Scotland and used it in his studio there which he christened “Rude Studio.” Paul and drummer Denny Seiwell used this kit extensively for rehearsing their newly formed band, Wings, before recording their debut album, {Wild Life} at EMI’s Abbey Road studios. Ringo is seen playing the kit with Paul on the music video “Take It Away,” which was recorded in 1981. The drums were returned to Ringo with the bass drum arriving minus the original “Drop-T” logo front head, hoop, T-rods and Claws. For decades all five of Ringo’s Beatle kits were kept loosely in storage in London. During that time they were accessible to Ringo’s children, Zak and Jason and were sometimes used.

Throughout 2013 and 2014, Gary Astridge, Jeff Chonis and Scott Ritchie worked together to organize and document any Beatles gear that Ringo has in his possession. With his approval, a plan was implemented to make each of the five Beatle kits complete with historically correct hardware and cymbals and for each to be protected in their own custom road cases. The plan stipulated that each drum kit was to be exhibit ready and playable if Ringo so desired. Upon examination it was found that various hardware pieces from the kits had been misplaced or lost, so Ringo purchased period correct hardware and cymbals to make each kit a complete, authentic, stand-alone kit and to match what he used when he bought this kit on May 12, 1963, including original Ludwig vintage T-rods and Claws and a 60’s hoop with perfectly matched Oyster Black Pearl inlay. The Beatles “Drop-T” logo drum head was painstakingly re-created to look the way the original head first appeared on that historic day.